


Nightmares

by rangerhitomi



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! Zexal
Genre: Dreams and Nightmares, M/M, Sleepovers, Sleepy Cuddles
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-24
Updated: 2015-02-24
Packaged: 2018-03-14 20:46:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,846
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3425012
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rangerhitomi/pseuds/rangerhitomi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The worst feeling in the world was listening to Yuma cry out in his sleep and not being able to do anything for him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Nightmares

Shark grew to dread sleepovers with Yuma. Not because they weren’t enjoyable - they would duel, have popcorn, sometimes watch movies. They tried making a cake once but it turned out a disaster and Obomi chastised Yuma with a wide array of phrases Shark was pretty sure were not programmed into the O-Bots. Another time, they had drawn comics but neither of them was any good at drawing, so they quickly disposed of them before anyone saw. He could never say no when Yuma invited him over because, despite one thing that made Shark’s stays uncomfortable, he enjoyed his time with him.

No, the thing that made Shark uncomfortable was Yuma’s restless sleep.

The first time Shark went over, he had a delicious dinner with Yuma’s family and Akari played a board game with them until she chided them to get some sleep. Shark slept on a pallet made up in Yuma’s room while Yuma lounged in his hammock. At about three o’clock that morning, Shark woke suddenly to a cry of terror. He bolted upright and saw Yuma, outlined in the dim streetlight filtering through the window, wide-eyed and breathing heavily.

“Yuma?” Shark had ventured cautiously, but Yuma had merely laughed weakly and told him it was a bad dream, and nothing more.

But the bad dreams continued each time Shark returned to stay the night.

Some nights, Yuma would make whimpering noises, sometimes he would moan, others he would give off an ear-splitting scream that would draw his sister to the room to comfort him. Violent thrashing would always accompany these episodes. Shark wondered whether Yuma was having traumatic childhood flashbacks, or whether the strain of collecting the Numbers was slowly tearing him apart. He never bothered asking. All he knew was that Yuma’s constant night terrors filled Shark’s rest with terrors of his own - his sister’s hospitalization, the terrible choices he made during his brief stint as a dropout, losing his soul to Kaito, his possession by Shark Drake. He began fearing to fall asleep at Yuma’s house because he worried that he might wake Yuma with his own cries of horror, and he didn’t want Yuma to know about his own dreams.

So when Yuma asked Shark to stay over one night, Shark agreed as usual, but knew he wouldn’t sleep that night.

Things started off just fine; Haru made a filling and delicious dinner, Akari scolded Yuma to work harder in school (“You’re never going to be a pro duelist, so you should work hard and have a respectable career later in life,” she explained over Yuma’s muttered reminders that he was th _e_ duel champion and that she should stop criticizing his dueling skills), and the after-dinner tea was pleasurable as usual. When Yuma and Shark migrated into the living room after dinner to watch an old movie Yuma had thought looked interesting, Haru announced that she was headed to a Go tournament in a neighboring town and wouldn’t be home until the next evening. Akari followed up by telling them she was headed to a friend’s house for the night.

“Behave yourselves,” she added with a wink as she dashed out of the house.

The teens changed out of their school clothes and into their pajamas before settling on the couch to watch the movie - one that turned out to be a poor choice.

Halfway through the movie, Yuma had hardly touched the popcorn and instead appeared to be forcing himself to look at the screen. The characters were crossing a collapsing rock bridge over an endless chasm and, just as they appeared to have made it, something grabbed one character and pulled him into the abyss. Yuma let out a small whimper and clenched Shark’s pajama pants so tightly Shark was afraid he was going to tear a hole in them.

“Yuma?”

Yuma’s face contorted as though he were trying to swallow an egg whole. “I… I don’t think I like this movie much.” He tried and failed to give Shark an apologetic smile that ended up making him look like an abandoned puppy.

Shark wordlessly grabbed the remote and flicked the movie off as the main character screamed for his fallen companion. With a slight hesitation, he gently placed his hand on Yuma’s and Yuma slowly released his death grip on Shark’s pants.

“Want to… have a duel?” Shark suggested. This was one of their favorite pastimes; though Yuma nearly always beat Shark when it mattered, they were evenly matched when they played a friendly game.

“Sure…” Yuma looked distracted, and it was readily apparent that his heart wasn’t in it when Shark defeated him soundly not five minutes later.

“Yuma,” Shark began, pulling off his D-Gazer and taking two concerned steps toward the boy sitting forlornly by the fireplace. “What’s bothering you?” He offered his hand, which Yuma ignored as he pulled himself up.

“I just…” Yuma looked uncomfortable. “I just have a lot on my mind, not a big deal.”

But it was a big deal, Shark thought grimly. As they got ready for bed, Yuma tried to brush his teeth with a comb and instead of mouthwash, grabbed a bottle of hydrogen peroxide. Fortunately, Shark caught him by the wrist and gently replaced the chemical solution with the mouthwash before Yuma could do more than open the bottle.

They settled in their usual sleeping spots - Yuma in his hammock and Shark on the pallet that had become an almost permanent fixture in the room. As he pulled his sheets over his body, he watched Yuma’s outline shift around on the hammock as though he were unable to get comfortable. Resisting the urge to whisper Yuma’s name to see what was the matter, Shark closed his eyes and tried to drift to sleep.

He floated on his back on a clear lake, wearing his school uniform that somehow didn’t get wet. Clouds drifted overhead, and he bobbed lazily in the water until something strong grabbed him around the middle and dragged him screaming into the depths of the ocean…

_Ryoga Kamishiro…_

A familiar voice, and Shark became aware of the hand that had grabbed him belonging to a familiar form.

_We’re one and the same, Ryoga._

The claw belonging to Shark Drake stroked his chest the same way it always did when it tried to take over, when it exhibited its power over the weak teenage boy-

I’m you, and you are me.

Shark couldn’t move his body as Shark Drake came closer and closer…

“No,” he whispered. “I won’t. I won’t let you-“

_Let me in, Ryoga._

He jerked violently awake, gasping for air. At nearly the same time, Yuma let out a cry, followed by the most pitiable scream Shark had ever heard from him.

Shark sat with his blankets tangled in his legs, frozen, as Yuma’s scream turned into heaving sobs, through which Shark could make out familiar sounds-

“No,no, please-“

He watched Yuma’s body thrash on the hammock until he knew it was dangerously close to ripping the supports out of the wall, but his body was still paralyzed by the vivid dream.

“No, no, no…”

Yuma’s sobs became increasingly high pitched and terrified-

“ _Not… him… SHARK!”_

Shark’s heart pounded as he finally regained use of his limbs. He staggered toward the younger boy flailing against an unseen force, an unknown nightmare-

“Yuma!”

His voice betrayed his fear but Yuma didn’t seem to hear him anyway.

“I can’t… don’t make me choose!” Yuma whimpered.

Shark grabbed Yuma by the wrists and was surprised when Yuma almost ripped out of Shark’s grasp. Adrenaline, Shark realized - Yuma was deathly afraid of whatever was tormenting him.

So he did the only thing he knew could calm Yuma down when he had his night fits - the thing he had seen Akari do for him in the past. He released Yuma’s wrists and, with difficulty, wrapped his arms around his torso and pulled him close to his chest. Yuma’s fingers clawed at Shark’s back and shoulders as he tried to fight him off but Shark gritted his teeth against the pain and held Yuma, gently stroking his sweat-soaked back. Slowly, the tension wracking the boy’s body lessened, and Yuma’s hands clenched Shark’s shirt like he never intended to let go.

“Shark,” Yuma whimpered into Shark’s shoulder after what seemed an eternity.

“I’m here.”

“What’s happening to me?”

“It was a nightmare, Yuma.”

“They won’t go away.” Yuma’s strangled whisper was accompanied by a few drips of moisture against Shark’s chest. “It’s getting worse, since the Barians showed up-“

“I know.”

“I don’t want to give up what’s most important to me.”

Shark’s breath caught in his throat. Yuma had never discussed the nature of his dreams with him, or as far as he knew, with Astral.

“You don’t have to,” he managed.

“It says I do. It’s always… told me. I have to give up what’s most important to me…”

“You make your own destiny,” Shark whispered, pulling back from Yuma and looking him in the eyes. Yuma’s face was covered in salty tear streaks that glistened in the dim streetlight. “You make your own choices.” He felt a stab of curiosity as to why Yuma had cried out his name but didn’t press the issue. It didn’t matter, not really.

Yuma stared at Shark for a moment longer and pulled his knees to his chest. He shivered slightly, and Shark wasn’t surprised; Yuma was soaked in sweat and the window was open. He prayed fervently that none of the neighbors had heard Yuma’s screaming.

“Here-” Shark picked up the blanket that Yuma had kicked onto the floor. “I’ll get the window.” He ducked under the hammock and latched the window so the cool breeze no longer blew on Yuma. He motioned for Yuma to lie down and paused in the act of tossing the blanket on the wide-eyed teen.

Then, instead of tucking Yuma in, Shark clambered awkwardly into the small hammock. It swung as Shark shifted to a more comfortable position, which he found when he wrapped himself around Yuma and pulled the blanket over the both of them.

“What are you doing?” Yuma whispered into his chest.

“When Rio and I were kids, she would climb into bed with me when she had a nightmare and I would hold on to her,” Shark replied softly. “She said it helped her not have nightmares so much anymore, when someone was there to protect her.”

The Emperor’s Key around Yuma’s neck pressed against Shark as Yuma pulled himself closer and slid his arm around Shark’s hip. It was the same spot where Shark Drake stroked him in his dreams, looking for a way to control him… and Shark knew, as the familiar key pressed into his chest, that he would have no more nightmares that night.

“I wish I could protect you half as many times as you’ve protected me,” Yuma mumbled.

Shark rubbed Yuma’s back gently.  _You’re protecting me too, Yuma,_ he thought as he drifted off into an uninterrupted sleep.  _You always have._


End file.
